CRX Headlights

Speaking of CV boots, the joints are probably near their EOL. This is
more a function of out and out years rather than wear and tear.

Ether. It doesn't really make the car start any easier, but it REALLY
makes things "interesting"

 

You've beaten this horse here before. Repeatedly.

I am reminded of something Mary Shafer (at the time, Flying Qualities
Lead Engineer on NASA's SR-71) once wrote:

"Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don't have the balls to
live in the real world."

Dave

 

Who's talking about "perfect safety"? I'm talking about things like ABS
and air bags.

Are you saying you *admire* someone who "has the balls" to drive without
them?

 

abs is no panacea - it can extend braking distances, just read your owner
manual. air bags? depends on how big you are and how close to the wheel
you sit. and the type of crash you have. air bags don't do squat for the
driver of an exploder when it rolls and the roof collapses.

go to a junk yard and look at real crashed cars - that'll tell you /way/
more than any hearsay or b.s. you'll read in a press release.

 

Don't feed the trolls.


Not many cars newer than about 20 years old that I have much interest in.

 

Maybe. Rarely. All in all, it's a good thing to have, in almost all
cases.

No, it doesn't.

We weren't talking about an "exploder". The subject is a Honda CRX. Try
to keep up, if you're gonna jump into a conversation.

Anyone who argues that ABS or airbags don't include your chances of
survival in a crash is just a fool. If that's what you truly believe,
don't bother replying, as I don't have time to waste on fools.

 

actually, it's a crappy thing to have in mud and snow because in both
cases, locking and plowing can stop you quicker. straight line on ice is
debatable. it's primary purpose is to help the freds who would otherwise
lock wheels and keep them locked when they brake in the rain, skid, and
slowly pirouette across the freeway as they try to break the brake pedal
off hoping it'll make the cars stop faster. if you've ever witnessed
people driving in the rain in los angeles or las vegas, you'll know what i
mean.

actually, it does.

you made a blanket statement, but it's only applicable to a limited set of
circumstances. front airbags offer no protection from side impact. they
offer no protection from rollover. all they offer is protection from
frontal, and that's assuming the driver would otherwise impact the wheel
due to proximity or restraint problems. in all cases, better protection
would be afforded by the use of a rigid safety cage, five-point harness
and helmet rather than an explosive device.

dude, i'm not a fool. not only do i have something of an edumacation on
this stuff, i've worked with cars for a long time, both professionally and
as an amateur. and i've surfed junkyards for more than three decades.
i've seen a lot of busted cars, including crx's. if you want to say that
the first gen crx's with the plastic body panels are sketchier than the
gen two's, i'll say sure. but neither vehicle is a slouch in crash
survival that i've seen. for rollover, [if you can ever get it to
rollover, which short of ditching it is pretty near impossible in my
experience], both gens of crx hold up /real/ well. much better than
detroit product of the same era, or even today. for frontal, same again,
great survival of the passenger cell. where they're not so hot is side
impact, but imo, that's something of a debatable benefit. without some
distance in which to deform and thus absorb impact, the body decelerates
against the side impactor pretty much unprotected. and short of making
vehicles as wide as they are long, there's not much to be done about
that. side airbags protect the head, but they don't prevent broken
plevises, legs, etc.

 

Airbags and ABS are not a bad thing, but having them does not
automatically make a car safe, and lacking them does not automatically
make a car dangerous.

My primary focus is Volvo, the 240 series was made for nearly two
decades and is legendary for safety, despite airbags and ABS being
available only the final 2 or 3 years of production. Much has been
learned in the way of safety and cars in general have improved
dramatically in the last decade or two, particularly small cars, but in
many cases an air bag is a band aide over inferior design.

All that said, there's more to life than safety. Few would argue that
motorcycles are safe, but they're fun, and many of us would rather live
a short but enjoyable life, than a long one spent locked in a padded
sterile bunker where we are "safe".

The best way to survive an accident is to not get in one; drive
sensibly, keep your eye on the road, stay off the phone, drive at a
speed appropriate for the conditions, and keep the car in good
mechanical order. Accidents do happen, and safety equipment will improve
your chances, but nothing can protect you in all cases. Life involves
some risk.

 

Yep, when I look back on life, I somehow survived cars without
seatbelts, the lead paint era, second hand cigarette smoke, etc. All
that this cradle to grave safety first crap is accomplishing is dumbing
down society further not to mention much higher vehicle prices and
reduced fuel efficiency.

And, that good ol' SR-71 leaked fuel like a sieve until reaching
altitude and speed. Still, nothing has been built to be its equal.

Best of all, if push comes to shove, I just drive my reliable ol' 55
Studebaker President State sedan and will gladly take advantage of
someone else's crush zone!

JT

 

You make a good point... Defensive driving is more important than ever
considering that the driving public represents dumbed down individuals
who think all this modern gadgetry is gonna save 'em.

And when this stuff starts to go bad, it gets real expensive to repair.
I don't really see a cost vs. benefit advantage in the long run.

But... Let 'em pay those high monthly payments. I'll stick to my paid
for ancient tin...

JT

 

that we KNOW about;remember that the Blackbird flew for many years before
it became public knowledge.

(is Aurora it's replacement?)

 

Hard to say... Don't have Kelly Johnson's skunk works anymore. Hard to
keep things under wraps in this political correct world..

JT

 

They're flush halogen headlamps. It turned out the pins weren't
broken. The headlamp flange that rides on the adjuster screw had
"pulled through", causing the headlamp to flop down. I suppose it
could have been repaired by straightening the bent flange. Since I'd
already gotten a new headlight housing from a salvage yard, I put that
in instead.

It was one of those jobs that took 2 hours but could be done again in
45 minutes. Not bad at all. Information I have from the manuals
isn't quite correct for the '87 model. If you know what you're doing,
you can remove two bolts and slide the bumper/bumper cover off as an
assembly. The side marker lamp assembly has to be removed to get
access to one of the bolts holding the headlight housing in.

It turned out to be much easier to remove the bumper cover first and
then pull the bumper off. It's just easier to see what's going on
when you do it that way. With the cover off, it's also a lot easier
to get the bumper aligned with the attachment holes when putting it
back together.

And, of course, there has to be at least one revolting development
when you do stuff like this. In my case, it was discovering that the
right hand CV joint has a tear in it. It must have happened in the
last 2 months, since it was ok when I changed oil in October. No
noises coming from the thing yet.

The car has 149,470 miles on it. CV joints were previously replaced
at 72,900 (LH) and 74,970 (RH). That was back in 1998. About normal
life for CV boots from what I hear.

 

Thanks for the update. should help others who may be Googling for the
same problem.

And that short boot life is typical of aftermarket boots. OEM ones last
about 8 years (much longer for the newest plastic ones), and take two
years or so to split from the first sign of cracking.

 

Yeah, I've noticed a dearth of information on this issue in forums
other than here. Wish I had taken more pictures to document the work,
although it wasn't a big deal.

Figures. I think I had these put on at Midas...or somewhere like
that. Before everyone attacks, it was the daughter's car at the
time. She was away at college. Only time I could get it was usually
Sundays. Midas was one of the few places open then. I'm not a fan of
the non-standard exhaust work they did on it, by the way...

Anyhow, thanks for the advice. I'll get the OEM boots put on.

 

Not much point in putting OEM boots on aftermarket joints. The joints
themselves are unlikely to last another 8 years. Besides, OEM boots are
expensive.

I'd just replace these boots with aftermarket ones.